Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Department of Family and Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 23;16(4):e0250555. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250555. eCollection 2021.
Vaccines are effective interventions that can reduce the high burden of diseases globally. However, public vaccine hesitancy is a pressing problem for public health authorities. With the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, little information is available on the public acceptability and attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines in Jordan. This study aimed to investigate the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines and its predictors in addition to the attitudes towards these vaccines among public in Jordan. An online, cross-sectional, and self-administered questionnaire was instrumentalized to survey adult participants from Jordan on the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines. Logistic regression analysis was used to find the predictors of COVID-19 vaccines' acceptability. A total of 3,100 participants completed the survey. The public acceptability of COVID-19 vaccines was fairly low (37.4%) in Jordan. Males (OR = 2.488, 95CI% = 1.834-3.375, p < .001) and those who took the seasonal influenza vaccine (OR = 2.036, 95CI% = 1.306-3.174, p = .002) were more likely to accept COVID-19 vaccines. Similarly, participants who believed that vaccines are generally safe (OR = 9.258, 95CI% = 6.020-14.237, p < .001) and those who were willing to pay for vaccines (OR = 19.223, 95CI% = 13.665-27.042, p < .001), once available, were more likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccines. However, those above 35 years old (OR = 0.376, 95CI% = 0.233-0.607, p < .001) and employed participants (OR = 0.542, 95CI% = 0.405-0.725, p < .001) were less likely to accept the COVID-19 vaccines. Moreover, participants who believed that there was a conspiracy behind COVID-19 (OR = 0.502, 95CI% = 0.356-0.709, p < .001) and those who do not trust any source of information on COVID-19 vaccines (OR = 0.271, 95CI% = 0.183-0.400, p < .001), were less likely to have acceptance towards them. The most trusted sources of information on COVID-19 vaccines were healthcare providers. Systematic interventions are required by public health authorities to reduce the levels of vaccines' hesitancy and improve their acceptance. We believe these results and specifically the low rate of acceptability is alarming to Jordanian health authorities and should stir further studies on the root causes and the need of awareness campaigns. These interventions should take the form of reviving the trust in national health authorities and structured awareness campaigns that offer transparent information about the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and the technology that was utilized in their production.
疫苗是一种有效的干预措施，可以减轻全球疾病的高负担。然而，公众对疫苗的犹豫是公共卫生当局面临的一个紧迫问题。随着 COVID-19 疫苗的出现，有关约旦公众对 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性和态度的信息很少。本研究旨在调查 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性及其预测因素，以及公众对这些疫苗的态度。一项在线、横断面和自我管理的问卷被用来调查约旦的成年参与者对 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性。使用逻辑回归分析来寻找 COVID-19 疫苗可接受性的预测因素。共有 3100 名参与者完成了调查。约旦公众对 COVID-19 疫苗的可接受性相当低（37.4%）。男性（OR=2.488，95CI%=1.834-3.375，p<0.001）和接种季节性流感疫苗的人（OR=2.036，95CI%=1.306-3.174，p=0.002）更有可能接受 COVID-19 疫苗。同样，那些认为疫苗通常是安全的人（OR=9.258，95CI%=6.020-14.237，p<0.001）和那些愿意为疫苗付费的人（OR=19.223，95CI%=13.665-27.042，p<0.001）一旦疫苗可用，更有可能接受 COVID-19 疫苗。然而，35 岁以上的人（OR=0.376，95CI%=0.233-0.607，p<0.001）和就业人员（OR=0.542，95CI%=0.405-0.725，p<0.001）不太可能接受 COVID-19 疫苗。此外，那些认为 COVID-19 背后有阴谋的人（OR=0.502，95CI%=0.356-0.709，p<0.001）和不信任任何 COVID-19 疫苗信息来源的人（OR=0.271，95CI%=0.183-0.400，p<0.001）不太可能接受他们。公众最信任的 COVID-19 疫苗信息来源是医疗保健提供者。公共卫生当局需要采取系统的干预措施，以降低疫苗犹豫的程度并提高其可接受性。我们认为这些结果，特别是可接受性的低比率，令约旦卫生当局感到震惊，应该进一步研究其根本原因和宣传活动的必要性。这些干预措施应采取恢复对国家卫生当局的信任和有组织的宣传活动的形式，提供有关疫苗安全性和有效性以及生产中使用的技术的透明信息。
